


Shadow Love

by Angel_Duck_Tales_5



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Angelic Ducks, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Lena's Shadow Angst, Precious Duck Love, Romance, truckload of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22053067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_Duck_Tales_5/pseuds/Angel_Duck_Tales_5
Summary: When a certain war ended, Louie is starting to miss Lena more and more...that is, until he found out that there is a way to get her back.. Now he, along with his family and friends, are on a quest to find all five artifacts in order to bring her back to normal. For now though, he's enjoying his  company with Lena in his shadow, leading to some cute moments...
Relationships: Dewey Duck/Webby Vanderquack, Louie Duck/Lena (Disney: DuckTales)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	1. Memory Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louie tries to figure out why he misses Lena so much with the power of flashbacks...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one the first romance-centered stories I have ever written. I wanted to explore on what the relationship between the two would have been like if Lena was stuck being a shadow after the Shadow War.

_Louie's POV_

It's been a few days since my family and I stopped Magica's reign of terror. Needless to say, everyone in Duckburg celebrated. We got interviewed by the reporter lady (who seems to have a knack to make up attention-grabbing news reports, although Huey told me that most of the news reports are not really informative and more like Hollywood gossip) and we had a big dinner at Uncle Scrooge's manor.

A few days later, we moved back to the manor to live there. Obviously, everyone is feeling happy and accomplished.

...So how come I don't feel very happy and accomplished?

Well, I felt that something is missing in my life. It's not the money or gold because I have lots of those, thanks to Uncle Scrooge (and his hopeful generosity). It's not the family because the family just got back together.

So I deduced that someone that I know in my life is missing. Then I tried to figure out who could be missing. The first person that came to my mind is...

_...Lena._

Then I realized the reason why I don't feel as accomplished or happy as the others. You see, Lena fought against Magica for a little while...until Magica vaporized Lena.

_So that's why I don't feel as accomplished or happy as the others... We suffered one horrible loss. I'm starting to miss her... Wait, since when did I care so much about Lena all of a sudden?_

I decided to think back to my past interactions with Lena so that I can figure this question out...

**Flashback #1**

My first meeting with Lena was...pretty turbulent. My brothers and I first met her when she and Webby were in the playground. Huey and Dewey were looking for the latter. I couldn't care less...until Lena tackled me and she was about to punch me. Thank goodness that Webby cleared up the misunderstanding before something ugly could happen. I got a brief bout of traumatization from that scene, but hey, at least I didn't get punched.

Later in the night, Lena got kidnapped by the Beagle Boys and my brothers, Webby, and I ended up having to save her. At first, we failed the rescue mission because Webby accidentally made our presence known. Then Lena got the whole Beagle family fighting each other by simply asking the question of who gets to turn us in. We made our escape from these dumb Beagle Boys.

I thought that Lena's escape idea was so awesome that when we got to the manor gate entrance, at one point, I straight-up told her that she's "my new favorite." Lena seems very flattered by this, but she treated it like it's no big deal. I mean, she's cunning, just like me. My respect for her definitely increased that night.

**Flashback #2**

Then there was the time when my siblings, Webby, Lena, Launchpad, and Mrs. Beakley are in the underground subway tunnels. ...It's a long story. Anyways, we were in a subway train and I witnessed Beakley scolding Lena for her rebellious attitude. That kinda worried me because Beakley could prevent Lena from seeing us ever again. Yeah, I still had respect for her from that epic escape plan that she made happen.

And while I was with Webby and Huey, I was thinking about Lena. Watching Webby and Huey fight about their beliefs on the Terra-Firmians' existence while I was munching popcorn made me feel like I was watching a comedy movie. Thinking about Lena pretty much changed the atmosphere though. Now I'm getting romantic comedy vibes. I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure I'll figure it out once I'm done thinking about my memories.

After the situation involving a haywire subway train (again, it's a long story), we got out of the train. Lena asked if everyone is okay. It's really nice to see that she's showing concern for us and I nodded my head.

And finally, we got out of the subway tunnel (with some help from the Terra-Firmians). I walked out with my brothers and Webby first. Then I saw Launchpad walk out next and then Beakley exits the tunnel too. I waited for Lena to come out and sure enough, she did. So I walked next to her and I decided to strike up a conversation with her.

"Hey, Lena? Remember when you tricked those Beagle Boys? I thought that was the most awesome thing that I had ever seen." I said. Lena looked at me with a smirk as she replied, "Yeah, I got that when you told me that I was your new favorite." I blushed a little after seeing that Lena actually remembers about what I said. "Y-you do?" I asked. Lena nodded as she said, "Obviously. I wonder why you said that, but oh well." My admiration for her continued to grow.

**Flashback #3**

I remember the time when Lena had a sleepover with Webby. When I first heard about this from my brothers, I felt excited, which is a rare feeling for me (unlike that certain blue-clad sibling). So I devised a plan to join in the fun...by starting the pillow fight. Unfortunately, it seems that Lena and Webby were prepared for our attack because they easily kicked us out of Webby's room by throwing pillows at us. I could tell that Lena was amused by this because I heard her chuckle after she closed the door. Dewey came up with the idea to spend the rest of the night diving into the money sea in the Money Bin. That's where we headed...

Some mishap happened in the Money Bin thanks to the money shark. Huey and I ran to the manor and once inside, we ran to Webby's room. We explained the whole situation to Lena and Webby (unintentionally through charades and Webby's explanation for them). Lena seemed super worried after she heard this. Then she suggested that we should deal with this money shark ourselves. This seems like a risky idea, but if she has another awesome, clever plan, then I'm all for it.

Once we're in the Money Bin with the houseboat, Huey and I tried to lure the money shark. Lena seems very concerned about this whole situation and she doesn't want to use magic as a solution for some reason. This deeply concerns me, but I decided to go with the flow. Huey got the lure ready and I'm watching near the harpoon, which Huey is using to shoot the lure into the money sea. Of course, the shark took the lure, but it dragged the lure around, making the rope get caught on Huey's leg and he got launched into the air. I grabbed onto Huey, getting launched with him.

Unfortunately, it launched us into the money shark's jaws. The last thing I heard before getting eaten are Webby and Lena's screams...

I did get freed later on, though (along with others). And once I found out that it's because of Lena's friendship powers that defeated the money shark, I was impressed with her more than ever. Once we walked to the manor after that situation, I looked over at Lena. "Lena, you defeated the money shark, right?" Lena looked back at me as she responded, "Yeah. Why do you ask?" After that, I immediately hugged her. "I was right. You are definitely my new favorite." I said in a very sincere tone. Lena gasped in surprise, but she hugged back. That was a moment that I definitely won't forget...

**Flashback #4**

This happened after the Tenderfeet situation. After I had solved this situation, I walked inside the manor with my brothers. Huey and Dewey walked into the living room. I was about to follow them into that room when I caught sight of Lena walking down the hallways. I decided to follow her. I wanted to have a conversation with her yet again.

"Lena? What are you doing here?" I questioned. That got her attention as she turned to look at me. "Oh, I was just, umm...looking at the fancy stuff in this manor?" She replied with a bit of an uncertain tone. I gasped in surprise. So Lena ended up sharing the same interest in treasure as I have? Sweet! "Nice! Wanna look at the awesome treasures that Scrooge keeps in his garage?" I suggested. Lena frowned as she said, "Sorry, but I don't have time. I'm gonna go now..." Then she walked out the front door.

I sighed. I figured that maybe Lena is having an off day and maybe she would be back to normal. Little did I know that she is having more than an off day...

**Flashback #5**

That led up to the Shadow War. When Magica took over the Money Bin, the adults tried to go there to save Scrooge and restore the peace. Us kids wanted to help too, so we tried coming up with a plan. Dewey suggested that we need someone to break into the Money Bin. I knew exactly the person who would be perfect for this job. And I can tell that Huey and Webby are thinking the same thing.

Dewey didn't catch on until we said our answer. "It's Lena!" I exclaimed with others. Dewey looked sheepish, but undeterred. Now we were about to head over to Lena's place.

We saw what Lena's place really looked like. It's not very hospitable, to say the least. I felt very sorry for Lena for living in a place like this. If I knew this earlier, I would had definitely let her live in the manor with us.

The shock didn't end there as Webby read the poem inside Lena's diary. It revealed that she's actually a shadow of Magica, making Lena a spy. That actually hurts me inside because she's such an awesome person and yet, she's working for an enemy.

Webby accidentally pushed Huey to the side after she felt very betrayed. Huey moved the curtain while regaining his balance. Then he looked at the wall scriptures that depicted Scrooge getting trapped in his Number One Dime after Magica escapes from said dime. That's when we all figured out that Scrooge needs more help than we thought. We decided to hurry on to the Money Bin to stop this once and for all. I felt a little heartbroken, but I decided to not let it bother me for now...

We made it to the Money Bin and we fought Magica. At one point during the fight, Magica cornered Dewey and Webby and she is about to zap them when a blue shield appeared in front of Dewey and Webby. Then the blue shadow appeared behind Magica and it materialized into...Lena! My heart practically leaped with joy when I saw her again. I didn't expect to see her in the blue shadow form, but at least she's fighting off Magica, which shows that she's a good person after all. I smiled, thinking that there's hope after all...until Magica vaporized Lena.

I frowned as my heart breaks again. I wanted to scream, but Webby has beaten me to it. That's when I suffered that horrible loss...

Shortly after that, we brought Scrooge back and he defeated Magica, once and for all. Webby looked like she was about to cry and to be honest, I feel the same way. Then my siblings and I looked at Webby. We immediately comforted her. "She'll always be with you." Dewey said to Webby as he put his hand in her shoulder (it seems that Dewey always cares about Webby, I swear that this boy is in love with her). Webby smiles as we hugged her.

**End of flashbacks...**

After remembering all of this, I finally figured it out. As much as I hate to admit it, the reason why I care about Lena so much is because I have a crush on her. I also realized that there could be a possible way of bringing her back... I just don't know what.

Now that I finally solved my own internal mystery... It's time to rewrite my own history.

_Lena, I WILL bring you back, no matter what. You can count on it!_

Little did I know that my own shadow has became a little sentient, looking at me with curiosity...


	2. A Beginning of Another Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louie is currently trying to figure out on how to bring back Lena back, giving Webby a good mystery to work with in the process.

_Webby's POV_

Phew! The Della Duck mystery sure was a doozy to solve! You know, most people tend to rest after solving a case like that.

...Ha! These people are missing the fun!

I love mysteries! They are so thrilling and intriguing! That's why I put the sign up on my room door that read, "Webby Vanderquack: Private Eye!"

...Was that title too cheesy?

Anyways, I'm now sitting on my bed, waiting for my first client. I seriously hate the waiting process because, well, it's just not fun!

It took me a few minutes to wait before my first client walked in. It's the duck with a green hoodie.

Wait a minute... LOUIE!

I jumped out of my bed excitedly and hugged him. "Louie! What brings you here?" I asked him after hugging him. Louie sighed as he said, "I need your help. I'm trying to find a way to bring Lena back." I gasped after hearing his predicament. "Lena's still alive?" I questioned, close to tears after hearing that there might be a possible solution to bring my best friend back.

Louie nodded. "Yeah. I'm getting some sort of strange feeling that she might be still alive. I don't know what caused it though..." He answered. "Well, have you felt some sort of shiver that ran down your spine?" I asked in a detective fashion. "It's either that or Scrooge has invested a lot of money in air conditioning." Louie replied while shrugging.

"Ooh! That's one sign. Okay, did you ever get the feeling that your shadow is always doing their own thing?" I asked again. "I have always felt this way, but I think it might be literal this time..." He responded, a bit uneasy.

I felt more and more convinced. "One more question... Have you ever seen messages appear out of nowhere?" I asked. Louie looks shocked as he said, "Actually, yeah... I was in the living room, watching TV. There are all sorts of papers with letters on them all over the floor. Don't ask, Huey wrote the letters on the paper for some badge or something. Anyways, the papers suddenly arranged themselves to spell out a message."

"Whoa... What does the message say?" I wondered. "It said, 'Hello, Louie.' Isn't that shocking?!" Louie said with a flabbergasted expression.

That definitely confirmed my theory. I prepared myself to give Louie life-changing news. "That is quite shocking, but not as shocking as the answer itself. Louie, Lena is your shadow." I said with utter seriousness. Louie just stared at me. I couldn't tell if he's very relieved or shocked.

"...R-really? How?" He finally replied after what felt like a minute of silence. I can see some of the tears forming in his eyes. I think he might cry tears of joy.

"Well, a shadow is like a ghost. That's why you felt some unusual chill atmosphere. And your suspicions about your shadow seemingly doing its own thing are not unjustified because Lena literally left a message in front of you! That means she's still alive!" I explained excitedly.

"YAY!" Louie literally jumped with cheer after exclaiming this. Then he stopped as he looked confused. "Wait, wouldn't Lena be in your shadow though? Since you and her are best friends and all?" He questioned.

That got me thinking. Then I said, "Oh, I think I know why! When we were having a big dinner, you hugged me to comfort me. Of course, Dewey made you do it because you're lazy, but still, it's the thought that counts. Anyways, while we were hugging, I think Lena transferred from my shadow to yours!"

"Wow! I think that actually might have happened... I felt some strange and chilling sensation while hugging you, so it must have been that." Louie added. "Now that we know that Lena is alive, how do we bring her back to her normal form?" He looks at me, expecting an answer.

I frowned. I see that Louie noticed because he frowned too. "You don't really know, don't you?" He said dejectedly. I shook my head. I really wish that I could help Louie out, but I don't know how to bring Lena back...

Louie looks like he is about to cry so I immediately hugged him. "It's going to be okay, Louie... I will try everything I can to bring Lena back." I said in a sincere tone. "R-really?" Louie responded with a quiver. I nodded. I will help my friends out, no matter what. "I promise." I replied.

Louie smiled with tears. "Thank you so much, Webby. I wish you luck on this case." He said. "No problem! After all, what are friends for?" I answered. Then Louie walked out of my room. All of a sudden, I feel a familiar aura, but I can't figure out what...

Then I sat down at my bed and looked at my notebook, which is practically full of the McDuck Family trivia. Did you know that Scrooge actually ripped a huge steamboat apart because he got really, _really_ angry that someone dared to make fun of his dead mom? Although, his mom (and dad) is still alive, and I can attest that she's alive because I saw her while on the Castle McDuck trip.

...This is so confusing! Am I living in an alternate dimension or something?! ...Ahem. Sorry about that. I just really love to learn about McDuck history.

Anyways, I opened up my notebook and I scribbled down the new goal: bringing Lena back to her normal form. After I wrote the goal down, I pondered on where to start on this investigation.

While I was pondering though, I heard papers rustling. I immediately leap out of my bed and got in my defensive stance. "Who's there?!" I shouted.

Then I saw something interesting. I saw a message made out of papers. I read the message.

**Webby, I'm here.**

I gasped after I read this message. So that's why I feel the familiar aura! Lena got transferred from Louie's shadow to mine while we hugged several minutes ago! Louie might be trying to contact Lena right now and he will be very disappointed because she's not in his shadow right now! I gotta tell him before this happens!

"LOU-" I shouted before someone slammed a chloroform rag in front of my beak. Then a second person grabbed me and I figured out what was going on.

_Oh no._

"GUYS!" I screamed while struggling. Big Time Beagle pressed the chloroform rag harder on my beak. It wasn't long before I became weak and drowsy. Then they let me go and I dropped to the floor in a heap. I looked back at the main Beagle Boy trio and I saw an unlocked window behind them.

_Oh... So they somehow figured out a way to unlock my room window and they are about to catch me... Oh no..._

Before everything went black, I had one last thought.

_Lena, if you can somehow hear me...then please make sure that Louie is okay..._

_Dewey's POV_

"Looks like I won again, Dewford!" Huey said after beating me at Scrabble yet again. I sighed while glaring. "I'll get you next time, Hubert. You can count on it." I replied indignantly. "I doubt it." Huey smirked.

Then we suddenly heard crying from the living room. Not just any crying though... Louie's crying? Huey and I looked at each other with confusion and then we ran out of the kitchen and to the living room to see what was going on.

Once we got there, we saw Louie lying on the couch, sobbing. We immediately felt sorry for Louie, but we also knew very well how tricky Louie is, so we approached him cautiously. "Louie, what's wrong?" Huey asked.

Louie looked at me and Huey with tears. He hiccuped. Wow, this seems pretty serious. "Lena isn't coming back, ever..." He said throughout his sobs. Huey and I already started to feel concern for Louie and now the concern is increasing tenfold. "Why would you think that?" I questioned. "I tried to contact her numerous times, but she never appeared in my shadow and at this point, I feel like giving up..." Louie replied sadly.

I looked at Huey and nodded. He nodded back. It's time for...an emergency bro hug! Huey and I hugged Louie. I can't tell what is his reaction to the sudden hug, but at least that stopped his flow of tears. "Everything is going to be alright, Louie..." Huey reassured. "Yeah, Lena will come back soon, Louie. Especially since the power of love is very prevalent here." I teased.

Louie glared at me as he blushed while Huey chuckled. "Oh yeah? Then I can say the same for you and Webby." Louie retorted playfully. I ended up blushing while glaring back at Louie. That retort was so uncalled for! "No way! We are just best friends!" I shot back. Louie and Huey laughed. And it seems like the laughing is contagious because I ended up joining the laughter circle.

The laughter lasted for a minute until Huey said, "Heh... Wait, wouldn't Lena be in Webby's shadow? Since she is Lena's best friend?" That made Louie stop laughing with a dawning realization look. "Oh shoot... I just realized that I hugged Webby earlier today and Lena probably switched shadows because of it!" He deduced. "Then we gotta get to Webby's room!" I said.

Right after I said that, my siblings and I heard a loud scream. "GUYS!" We heard Webby shout. That immediately triggered my worries and I yelled, "LET'S GET MOVING, GUYS!" Louie responded, "You don't have to tell me twice!"

Then we ran to Webby's room as fast as we can. When we arrived, we looked around. No Webby. I immediately feel worried. "Webby? Where are you?" I called out. Louie looked at the open window and he gasped. "Oh no! What happened?!" He exclaimed in fear. "Looks like there's a break-in...and someone left a note." Huey explained as he pointed at the note on the bed. Then he picked the note up and he read it to us.

_Dear McDuck brats,_

_We have captured your bratty friend with a pink bow. If you want us to let her go, then you have to bring your rich uncle's top hat, which contains the key to the money bin. If you don't bring us what we want and yet, you still come to the Junkyard, we are going to capture you too. Choose wisely._

_Sincerely, Ma Beagle_

After Huey was done reading the letter, I can feel the anger boiling up inside me. "That's it. They have done lots of heinous things in the past, but this is the worst!" I growled. Huey and Louie looked at me with concern.

Huey sighed. "You're gonna go to the Junkyard and rescue Webby, aren't you?" He said it in a tone that indicates that he's not surprised. I nodded. "Sounds like a plan, but how are we going to do that?" Louie asked out of worry. I looked at my two brothers with confidence. "We are going to make it up as we go along. After all, ducks don't back down!" I shouted with inspiration.

This inspirational phrase is starting to become my favorite because my siblings nodded in agreement while donning looks of confidence. Then we ran out of Webby's room and out of the manor.

 _I'm hoping that Lena can at least keep Webby company... I have a feeling that she's going to need it._ I thought while running on the path to the Junkyard with my brothers.


	3. Yet Another Great Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's up to the triplets to rescue Webby from the Beagle Boys...but how are they going to do that? Maybe some outside help would be appreciated?

_Webby's POV_

...Huh? Where am I? Why does everything seem so blurry? I shook my head to get a more clear view and I looked around.

It seems that I'm on top of the tallest junkyard pile... Wait, why am I in a junkyard?

I tried to move, but I couldn't. That's when I found out that I'm tied to a pole.

_Oh no! The Beagle Boys have captured me! I must find a way out!_

I struggled to get out of the ropes using my good ol' trick, but that didn't work. It turns out that they tied this double knot really good. Then I tried calling for help, but all that came out of my mouth was a muffle. Of course, the Beagle Boys gagged me too.

_Argh! Ma Beagle must have been behind this kidnapping plan because the Beagle Boys are not that good at making plans!_

I sighed hopelessly after trying every option. There's no way that I can get out of here...until I saw a blue shadow suddenly form in front of me. I was a little too tired to comprehend this at first, but I gasped after I saw the full form of that blue shadow.

_L-Lena!? I wonder what she is doing here..._

Suddenly, I heard another voice in my head. " _Don't worry, Webby... I'm here to help you..."_ The voice said. Wait, Lena can use telepathy in this form!? AWESOME!

Then the blue silhouette of Lena went into a flat surface and it went inside the ropes. All of a sudden, I can feel the ropes getting looser after Lena untied the first knot from the inside of the ropes. After she untied the second knot, the ropes fell off and I am now free! YAY!

Well, I'm not exactly free yet... I'm still in the junkyard... I gotta get out of here...

Lena came back into the shadow form and she smiled at me. I smiled back. _Thank you so much, Lena..._ I thought. " _No problem, Webby. Now get out of the Beagle Boys' turf..."_ Lena replied back. I nodded and I picked up the clothes hanger from the junkyard pile and hung it on the zip wire that is attached to the pole. Then I rode down the wire onto the smaller junkyard pile. Time to escape...

_Louie's POV_

My brothers and I made it to the entrance of the junkyard after a long run. I took a deep breath and sighed. I'm so not used to long runs...

Huey and Dewey certainly are, though. "These Beagle Boys will pay for what they did!" Dewey exclaimed angrily. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but we need to come up with a plan." I pointed out. "Just leave it to me! I'm the best at making plans!" Huey said. "Yeah, we know. You told us this before." Dewey replied. "...like a thousand times." I added.

"Whatever! Anyways, it seems that there's a lock in the gate. Just wait here!" Huey ordered. Dewey crossed his arms while frowning. Typical Dewford. Then he looked at the scaffolding that can help you get over the fence if you climb over it. After noticing that, I already started to figure out on what Dewey plans to do.

Dewey ran to the scaffolding, climbed over it, and got over the fence. Somehow, Huey didn't notice that. Once he got finished picking the lock, the gate opened. Then he looked back at me. "Wait, where's Dewey?" He asked. I sighed as I answered, "He climbed over the fence and went ahead...again." Huey face-palmed. "Of course he did... Well, I bet he's going to save Webby. Looks like we will have to distract the Beagle Boys and hope that Dewey won't mess up." He said.

"Oh, well... This plan seems almost impossible. I'm not sure if we can execute that plan successfully..." I said while frowning doubtfully. Huey looked at me in a way that told me that he felt sorry for me. "Louie, I know that this plan may seem hard to you, but please remember that we have to do this for Webby...and especially Lena." Huey reminded me.

Hearing Lena's name practically made me jump. That gave me a little more motivation and confidence. I must complete my own personal quest of bringing Lena back, no matter what. I promised that with all of my heart.

So I nodded. "Okay. You're right, Huey. Let's go distract the Beagle Boys." I said. Huey smiled while nodding and we both went in.

_Dewey's POV_

After I got over the fence, I immediately looked around. Webby has got to be around here somewhere... I mean, the junkyard isn't really the big place after all.

First, I looked for any signs of Webby. I spotted a pink bow on one of the junkyard piles. I ran over there and I picked it up.

_Webby has always worn this bow on her hair... That bow has always made her look cute... Not that Webby wasn't cute already... Gah, focus, Dewey!_

Then I noticed that there's footprints leading up to the tallest junkyard pile. I followed them and I got on top of the tallest junkyard pile. I noticed that there's loose ropes near the pole once I got there.

_Huh... This must be where Webby was trapped. How did she escape though?_

Then I looked at the zip wire near me. I also see a second clothes hanger next to me. That's when I figured out how Webby got out of this trap.

_Clever girl... I love that in a girl. ...What is up with me today? Anyways, I gotta follow her trail._

So I used the clothes hanger to ride down the zip wire to a smaller junkyard pile. Once I got there...

SLAM!

"Ow!" Webby exclaimed once I accidentally bumped into her. Then Webby said, "Oh no! We accidentally touched each other! Lena could be in your shadow right now!"

"Oh no!" I said in worry as I looked at my shadow. All I saw was a normal shadow though...and I didn't feel any unusual sensations. "Umm... What happened here? I don't see Lena in my shadow." I asked in confusion.

"Ohhhh! I just remembered! Lena won't transfer into your shadow unless you're in contact with the person holding Shadow Lena for more than three seconds." Webby explained. That made me feel more relieved, to say the least. "Oh thank goodness! Well, let's get out of here." I replied. "Yes, let's." Webby agreed.

Then we suddenly heard the barking from the Beagle Boys and my brothers screaming. Not long after that, we see Louie and Huey running from the army of Beagle Boys. We ran down the junkyard pile and we ran to them to help them.

_Louie's POV_

"Maybe distracting then wasn't such a good plan after all!" Huey shouted. "Gee, you think?" I replied. Then we kept on running. This is actually very scary for me and I want to get out of here. Once my brother and I saw the exit though, we ran straight towards there.

We were almost there...until we tripped on the curb. As a result, we both fell down to the ground. "Ow!" We both said. Then we both try to get up and then we both got grabbed by the Beagle Boys. We both struggled to try to get out of their grasps, but they are too strong. At this point, I'm in full panic mode. Even I can't keep my thoughts straight.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!_

And then I burst out into tears. This is too much for me...

That is, until I heard something. "Hey! Leave my brothers alone!" Dewey shouted. I looked up to see Dewey and Webby standing there, ready for a fight. "Hey, it's the other brats! Get them!" One of the Beagle Boys said as they get ready to attack them.

"Bring it on!" Webby said as she ran and landed the first punch on Bouncer Beagle. Bouncer tried to hit back, but Webby backflips and she slid under Bouncer and she kicked him in the back, bringing him down.

Dewey chose to fight Burger Beagle. Dewey simply dodged all of Burger's attacks...until Burger kicked Dewey onto a junkyard pile. He felt a little dazed from that attack and then he saw a used slingshot and a rock on the pile. He got an idea to use the slingshot to shoot the rock at Burger. He did exactly that and it hits Burger's head, knocking him out.

Then Dewey and Webby ran to each other and quickly high-five each other.

_Wow... Dewey and Webby are definitely a battle couple, no doubt._

Big Time snickered though. "Did you forget that we have reinforcements?" He said as he pointed at the army of Beagle Boys behind him. Dewey and Webby looked unnerved at this. The whole army laughed and then they started to attack them.

_Oh no. I see their plan now. They are going to overwhelm them with sheer numbers!_

The Beagle Boy army fought Dewey and Webby. Webby was doing her gosh darn best to hold them off. She kicks and punches several of those Beagle Boys. Dewey just stayed by her side to make sure that she is safe.

_Sounds like your average romance story..._

Unfortunately, one Beagle Boy grabbed Dewey and he held him tight. "Haha, I'm going to make you suffer..." I heard the Beagle Boy said. That made Dewey struggle harder. And as if it's the cherry on top of this misery cake, the other Beagle Boy punched Webby on the back of her head, knocking her unconscious. Dewey looked very shocked at this. A tear rolled out of his eye. And then...

"WEBBY! NO!"

Needless to say, he got a lot more aggressive with his struggling. That Beagle Boy picked up Webby and held her tight too. He also stood under a streetlight. That's a big mistake if I ever saw one.

Eventually, the Beagle Boy holding Dewey captive got tired of his struggling and he's about to knock him out too...until a booming voice was heard.

_"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"_

Then a blue shadow appeared behind the Beagle Boy holding Webby prisoner. That blue shadow also looks menacingly angry. My brothers gasped at the sight of the certain blue shadow person. I just smiled happily.

_YAY! Lena is back! Well, only in her shadow form, but she's still here!_

Then Lena used her powers to possess the Beagle Boy trapping Webby. She made him let Webby go and then she made him go on an rampage, which is starting to scare the other Beagle Boys.

"Oh no!" "This is too much!" "Let's get outta here!" The Beagle Boys said as they ran out of the junkyard. They let me and my brothers go in the process. "Phew!" Huey said. I just sighed happily.

Once the job is done, Lena stopped possessing the rampaging Beagle Boy. "Whoa... What happened to me?" The Beagle Boy said. Dewey immediately charged and tackled him. He actually looks mad beyond belief. When Dewey stood on that Beagle Boy after five seconds has passed, he shouted, "This is for hurting Webby!" Then get this: Dewey punched the Beagle Boy's face, which made him lose consciousness. "Hmph." He said after he hopped off and he ran over to us.

"Is Webby okay?" Dewey asked in a distressed way. "Yep. She only suffered a minor bruise on the back of her head. She has surprising endurance." Huey explained. Dewey sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. And yeah, that's one of the reasons why she's so awesome." He said as he started to smile goofily out of love.

Huey smiled mischievously. "Dewey and Webby sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He sang. Dewey looked at Huey indignantly while blushing. "Hey, stop that!" He responded. I laughed so hard.

Then Dewey looked at me. He walked over to me and he puts his hand on my shoulder. "Here you go. You deserve this, Louie." He said. Right after he said that, I felt a familiar chill. I immediately checked my shadow. It's now blue and Lena is now looking at me with a smile. I blushed as I smiled back. My heart is literally fluttering right now...

_Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm now reunited with Lena! Well, in a way. We still need to bring her back out of the shadow form, but right now, I feel happy._

Lena noticed me blushing and she smirked. "Heh..." I chuckled. Then I looked at my brothers. "So we're going home now, right?" I asked him. Dewey picked up Webby and carried her in his arms. "Yep. Let's go." He agreed.

"I'll lead the way!" Huey said as he walked out the junkyard. Dewey an I followed him back to the manor.

**One hour later...**

Once we got to the manor, we told Uncle Donald, Uncle Scrooge, and Mrs. Beakley about what happened to us in the previous hour and Webby's condition. Mrs. Beakley's reaction is to take Webby to her room and take care of her minor injuries. Uncle Scrooge went with her and Uncle Donald stayed to give moral support to me and my brothers.

While this is happening, I saw my shadow turning blue again and Lena appeared in my shadow. I looked at her and I grinned. Lena always has this effect on me now. She grinned back.

_Huh. It seems that the feeling is mutual._

Then I frowned after remembering this. Lena took on a concerned look. "Lena, if you could hear me now—and I don't know if you could, but I'm going to say it anyways—I'm just so worried over Webby's well-being. Dewey's worry is much bigger, but still. I don't know if Webby will feel better or not..." I said.

Lena is still looking at me with concern and then she suddenly disappeared from my shadow. I felt confused. "Huh? Where did you go?" I asked. Then I felt a hugging sensation, which is most likely from Lena. To be honest, that really comforted me. So I hugged back.

After that, she stopped hugging and she returned to my shadow. Then she seems to be giggling while I was dazed in happiness and love.

**A few minutes later...**

Mrs. Beakley walked out of Webby's room along with Uncle Scrooge. Uncle Donald immediately looked at them and he asked, "How's Webby?" Mrs. Beakley answered, "She'll be fine. Her bruise will heal up tomorrow. Just make sure that she doesn't get hurt like this again." Donald saluted as he said, "I will definitely make sure of that!"

"Well, we should get to bed now, eh?" Scrooge questioned. Everybody else agreed, including me.

Soon, I'm now in the bedroom with my brothers. I lied down on my green bed while my brothers got ready to go to sleep. Today took so much energy out of me that I even fell asleep right after lying down! Unbeknownst to me, my Lena shadow petted my head and whispered, _"Good night, cutie."_ Then she disappeared to sleep too.

_Scrooge's POV_

Phew! Now I'm in my study room while the laddies are asleep, it's time to make travel plans!

So I checked out the map that I got recently and I studied it.

Hmm... It turns out that there's five treasures in different locations that are connected to each other. That's pretty interesting...interesting enough that I could plan a world trip around this! This will be the most exciting adventure ever! Now all I have to do is to finish up the plans tomorrow and we are good to go! Adventure, here we come!


	4. A Sweet Break at the Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louie and Lena spent some much-needed time with each other after the whole Beagle Boys ordeal.

_Louie's POV_

I woke up to the bright sun shining on my face through the window. I figured that it was morning after looking around. Then I just realized that I have the most refreshing sleep in my entire life. I wonder how that happened...

As if on cue, I felt a chill down my spine and I looked down at my shadow.

_There she is._

I immediately smiled after seeing Lena in my shadow. "Good morning." He greeted. Lena waved hello at this while smiling.

I also started to realize that nothing major is happening right now... That means today is my break day! And even better, I can spend it with Lena! Yaaay!

The mere thought of this makes my heart melt. Then I thought about what to do.

_I feel like watching TV at the living room again...but I want to make today a special day between me and Lena._

Then I decided to go outside. I walked out of the room and to the front door. When I walked past the kitchen, I noticed Dewey and Webby talking to each other happily. I glanced down at Lena and she made a heart sign with her hands. I chuckled as I said, "I definitely think so too!"

"Who are you talking to?" Dewey asked me. I freaked out. How did Dewey suddenly notice me?! That made Webby look at me too.

"Umm... I'm talking to no one." I replied dryly. Dewey shook his head as he was laughing. I have a bad feeling that he's not buying my lie for one bit...

"Uh huh. Sure. Then why did you speak...unless you're talking to your shadow giiirlfriend?" Dewey teased. "Oh, Dewey, stop." Webby giggled as she nudged Dewey. I blushed. No, this can't be happening!

"Oh yeah, Dewey? Then what about you and Webby, Duckburg's cutest couple?" I responded while smiling mischievously. "And you know how much evidence I have on my phone that proves it."

Dewey and Webby both blushed as well, which is exactly my intended reaction. I smirked as I walked away. I took one last look at the kitchen and I noticed that Webby gave me a thumbs up. That's her way of saying that she's happy for me being partially reunited with Lena. That made me smile as I walked away. I heard Dewey say, "I wonder how much evidence he has..." I chuckled to myself. He has absolutely no idea...

After I walked out through the front door, I walked down the porch steps and sat outside on the grassy front yard. It's the month of May, so a large variety of flowers grew on the front yard. And today is a sunny day.

_Perfect weather... Why do I have a feeling that something sweet is about to happen?_

Then a green tulip grew next to me. I saw Lena pointing at it and smiling at me. I think she wants me to take it. So I grabbed it and all of a sudden, Lena gave me one big hug.

_Whoa! That certainly came out of nowhere...but it sure felt good. And it feels so refreshing too! Today was a hot day, so..._

I heard a giggle as she stopped hugging me and my shadow went wild, moving all around the flower field. I watched the whole thing in surprise.

_Okay, what kind of powers does Lena have? Because she is definitely surprising me with this bombastic show of her powers!_

Then my shadow returned back to my my side and I looked around. I gasped loudly. It turns out that she grew roses around me...in a shape of a heart!

_Does Lena really love me that much?_

_"Yes..."_ I heard a voice in my head. Then I felt a kiss to my cheek. That made me blush super hard. Then I realized that Lena can hear my thoughts.

 _Wait, you can hear me?_ I thought in wonder, hoping to get another response.

_"Of course I can... I'm a shadow duck, remember?"_

_Oh my gosh, that's so cool!_ I thought as I grinned goofily. I heard Lena giggle.

_"Agreed... So what should we do now?"_

_Hmm... Let's dance._ I thought while smiling suavely.

_"Dance? How? You do realize I'm still a shadow, right?"_

_Well, just take my hand and we'll start._ I thought as I stretched my two hands out. I felt two other hands touch mine. From the reluctant touch, I can tell that Lena is shy. Then I suddenly saw a blue shadow in front of me. I can definitely tell that it's Lena.

 _It's going to be okay, Lena. It's actually pretty fun—and sweet—to dance with the partner you love the most._ I thought reassuringly.

_"Well, okay... If you say so."_

I can't tell, but I have a feeling that Lena smiled. Then all of a sudden, I got spun around. Everything is all a blur...until Lena stopped spinning me and now we are just holding hands while dancing together.

_Dewey's POV_

After breakfast, I decided to take a break day too and I sat with Webby on a couch. Since we both love adventure, we discussed about our previous escapades...until we heard Louie whoop and holler in excitement. We walked to the window and looked through to see Louie dancing...with a blue shadow that vaguely looks familiar.

Webby squealed after she saw this sight. "Dewey, this is so sweet! Louie is dancing with Lena!" She beamed. "Wait, what? How?" I questioned. "Well, their bonds are beginning to build... That means they can make contact too! And I bet they had some sort of telepathic conversation too!" My lovely Webby said.

_...Yeah, I still have these thoughts. I don't mind them at all anymore though. I enjoy them._

"Really? That's awesome!" I replied happily. Webby looked out at the window as she said, "And it looks like they are going for the grand finale!" I looked out at the window too to witness more of this...

_Louie's POV_

A few minutes of dancing later, I hugged Lena's waist. _"Ooh, I bet you're starting to enjoy this more and more, aren't you?"_ I heard her voice in my head.

 _You bet! Let's go for a big finish, shall we, my dear?_ I thought in a romantic way.

_"Yes, let's!"_

Then she spun me around again and she pulled me into a tango. I blushed lightly at this while smiling...but I definitely didn't expect the next action that Lena did.

She leaned down for a kiss...but not just any kiss. It's a kiss in the beak.

Therefore, I remained still as Lena kissed me. Of course, my blush became more prevalent on my face.

_This is literally the most shocking thing I have ever been through...and I love it._

After that, she stopped kissing me and she returned to my shadow. I fell down onto the grass, feeling very dazed and happy.

And I remained that way...until Uncle Scrooge walked out of the front door and he said, "Louie! Come inside! I have an announcement to give to you kids!" I got up and I looked at Scrooge. "Okay." I simply said. Then I went inside with him.

**A few minutes later...**

I sat down with my brothers and Webby on the couch. We looked at Uncle Scrooge, who is at the front at the living room, and he is teeming with excitement. "Kids, I have finished making the plans for a world trip! We will go to five locations on this trip!" He announced.

"YEEEEAAAH!" Webby and my brothers cheered. I'm not really a big fan of adventure. "Another travel outing? Hoo boy..." I groaned. Scrooge wasn't done yet though. "There will be five treasures at those locations. These treasures are connected to each other. If we collect all of them, maybe something amazing can happen!" He said that in a way that he knew that this will convince me to go on this trip with my family...and he's right.

"Treasure!?" I exclaimed excitedly as I jumped out of the couch. "We should get ready to go!" Huey rolled his eyes, Dewey smiled cheekily, and Webby said this while giggling, "Typical Louie..."

However, Scrooge isn't unfazed. He's still genuinely smiling. "Exactly! Pack your bags, laddies, because after that, we're going on the world trip!" He replied.

**A few hours later...**

I'm just sitting on the plane, looking at the window. Launchpad is flying the plane, as usual. The others are just doing their own thing.

 _Well, I'm bored. Might as well watch videos._ I thought as I took out my phone.

I watched the video about ducks screaming while making a quack sound. It sounds crazy, but trust me, you're gonna love watching this.

After I watched this video, I laughed out loud.

 _Wowie, this video is super funny! I can't even stop laughing!_ I thought while still laughing.

 _"I know, right? That video definitely busted my gut."_ I heard the voice said while giggling. My heart starts to brighten up after realizing who this is.

 _Oh hey, Lena! I didn't realize you were here, hehe._ I thought while chuckling.

 _"Of course I am. I'm always here, for obvious reasons."_ Lena responded.

I noticed that there's an empty seat next to me and I patted it.

 _Well, why don't you come and sit over here so we can watch more videos?_ I offered.

 _"Sure! That would be splendid."_ Lena accepted and then a blue shadow is sitting next to me now. I grinned as I hugged her and she hugged back. After that, we continued to watch more videos. I didn't notice that Dewey is watching us with a smile...

All I can say is, that adventure will be the biggest one yet. I mean, five locations!? I'm not sure I can handle all of this. It's a good thing that I have friends and family who can help me out throughout this adventure. Not to mention that I also have my lovely Lena who can help me stay happy and motivated. Really, I do love her so much. And I can tell that she has the exact same sentiments towards me.

And as for the adventure itself? Well, here we go again!


	5. Temple Peril

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventuring group made it to their first location, and boy, the first obstacle sure is weird!

_Louie's POV_

"But Uncle Scrooge, I don't want to go!" I protested once the plane finally landed near the Ugandan temple. Scrooge sighed. He has dealt with this before and at this point, he's not surprised. "Louie, what about the treasure?" Scrooge inquired. Everybody else has gotten out of the plane except me, Scrooge, and Launchpad. Launchpad is just casually spectating the conversation.

I still feel unsure about the whole adventure. "Umm... Okay then? Still, I'm not so sure about this." I lamented. "Lad, confidence is key to the whole adventure. If you feel confident, you can do anything!" Scrooge replied in an inspirational tone. That kinda made me feel better, but not all the way.

Then I felt a chill again. I immediately looked down to see Shadow Lena giving me a smile and a thumbs-up. A voice echoed in my head.

_"You can do this, Louie... I believe in you..."_

I don't know how that happened, but I somehow got lots of confidence now. "Okay! Confidence fully restored!" I exclaimed happily as I ran out of the plane. While running out of the plane, I overheard Scrooge say, "Huh. Well, that was quick. I'm not gonna complain though. Let's go, Launchpad!"

**A few minutes later...**

I joined up with my brothers and Webby at the temple entrance. Launchpad and Scrooge soon caught up. We all looked at the golden temple entrance and there's inscriptions on the entrance. Webby decided to put her translating skills to use and said, "This says, 'Those who know the way will enter.' That's kinda vague..."

"I have no idea what that means, but do you know the way, guys?" Dewey questioned. Immediately after that, the entrance slid open. I couldn't believe what just happened and neither does Dewey. "Wow! Do I have a magic voice or something?" He wondered. "Hmm... You may have said a code phrase. Whatever, no time to dilly-dally! Let's go get that treasure, kids!" Scrooge ordered. Then we just entered the temple (except Launchpad, who decided to go back to the plane and stay there).

The first thing we learned once we entered is that the inside of the Ugandan temple is VERY dark. "GAAAAAAH! IT'S SO DARK HERE! WHERE'S THE LIGHT!?" Uncle Donald screamed. Ah, yes, I almost forgot that Donald joined us on this adventure. He had been so silent (probably trying to calm himself down) throughout the plane ride that it seemed like he was never there to begin with.

Scrooge lit up the torch, providing some light. Webby turned on her phone flashlight, giving off more light. Donald chuckled awkwardly once we looked at him. This always happens...

After that, we looked ahead to see two different passageways. That's when we realized what's going to happen next. "We have to split up. Huey, you're coming with me. You too, Donald. We're going to focus on the first passageway. Dewey, Webby, and Louie, go to the second passageway." Scrooge commanded. "And stay safe!" Of course, Donald added that one.

So I went with Dewey and Webby to the second passageway. Thankfully, the light from Webby's phone flashlight casted a shadow on me. Therefore, Lena appeared in my shadow and winked at me. I blushed a little as I walked down the corridor.

 _"Nice to see you again, Louie the handsome Duck."_ I heard Lena's voice in my head. I smiled as I replied, _Nice to see you too, my beautiful Lena._ I heard her cute giggle in my head.

 _"So what do you expect from this adventure?"_ She asked. _Oh, nothing except thrills and perils._ I thought. _"Oh. Well, I have faith that you and your comrades can survive this adventure."_ Lena said while smiling. I smiled back. _Aww, thanks, Lena._ I said happily.

All of a sudden, three people suddenly stood in front of my group. There's a large man, a small man, and a woman. From the looks of it, they appear to come from a tribe. The face paint and tribal clothing was the hint for that claim. Naturally, Dewey, Webby, and I am very puzzled.

"Umm... Who are you guys?" Webby asked. "Do you know the way?" The large man questioned. "Hey, I asked you a question first!" Webby replied in an annoyed tone. "Do you know the way?" The woman asked, clearly ignoring Webby. "Umm... What are you guys even doing?" I inquired. The men suddenly looked angry. "Last chance! Do. You. Know. The. Way!?" The small man questioned in a maniacal manner.

That freaked us out...except Dewey. "Okay, you guys are starting to sound like an outdated meme. Now scram before I die from cringing so hard." Dewey commented.

That pushed the men over the edge. "That's it! Sebastian, you know what to do!" The small man yelled. "You got it, Boss! IT'S LOOGIE TIME!" Sebastian (the large man) angrily replied as he quickly breathed in and launched a giant spit from his mouth and right at us. Dewey and Webby quickly dodged out of the way. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself.

I got stuck to the wall, thanks to that giant spit. I tried to struggle out of it, but this thing is like a sticky web. "Geez, what did you guys drink?" I questioned incredulously. "Oh, we drank a purple potion that gives our saliva increased stickiness!" Boss answered and he cackled maniacally.

At this point, Dewey and Webby ran away, probably to warn the other group about what just happened. Unfortunately, that took away our only source of light and by extension, Shadow Lena. "Nooooo!" I exclaimed. Now I became very scared because I'm in complete darkness with the people that just captured me.

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no..._ I thought anxiously. _"Calm down, at least you can still hear me."_ Lena replied. At least I have that going for me. Unfortunately, I was so anxious throughout the whole situation that I fainted. _"Louie! NOOOO!"_ That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

_Donald's POV_

"Turns our that this passageway was a dead end." Scrooge commented as he, Huey, and I walked out of the first passageway and into a second one. "Yeah... Seems like the other group knew what they were doing..." Huey said. I believe that and I still hope that they are safe. That's what a good uncle would do.

Then all of a sudden, Dewey and Webby ran up to us. They were panting hard from having to run all the way. I'm starting to have a familiar queasy feeling in my stomach...

"Dewey! Webby! Are you all right!?" I asked worriedly. They nodded, but I notice that someone is missing from their group, making my worries skyrocket. "Where's Louie!?" I questioned. "They...took...him..." Webby answered between pants. "Who?" Scrooge said, being curious about this whole situation. "The tribe people took him..." Dewey responded once he finally caught his breath.

 _WHAT!? Why, I oughta BWAKBWAKBWAKBWAK! ...Okay, I need to calm down._ I thought. And yes, I quack angrily in my thoughts too.

"Lead the way, Webby!" Scrooge ordered. "Yeah, so I can beat them up!" I added lividly. "Please calm down, Uncle Donald... Save your anger when we get to the tribe people." Huey recommended. I sighed. "Fine..." I said. After that, Webby led the way, with us following not far behind.

_Louie's POV_

I slowly woke up...only to find myself tied up in a middle of the room. I look around and saw that there are lights in the four corners of the room, but none in the middle, leaving me in darkness.

I immediately wanted to cry, but I tried to keep myself together. Emphasis on the word _try._ I keep quivering in fear every time I thought about this situation.

 _"Hey, Louie? Just remember that I'm always here for you...both literally and figuratively."_ I heard Lena's voice in my head yet again. That made me feel slightly better. _Oh, Lena, I'm so glad you're here!_ I thought gratefully. _"I know. I love you too."_ Lena's response made me blush.

 _"Hey, I just noticed something. You suddenly stop breathing anxiously the second I announce my presence. And it made me figure something out... Do I really mean that much to you?"_ Lena said in a tone that indicated that she's really flattered. I nodded happily. _Yeah, you mean a world to me..._ I thought.

 _"Aww! I feel the same way about you!"_ Lena replied happily. Then I felt a sudden quick kiss on my cheek. That made me blush really hard and more importantly, it made me smile. _Hehe... Thanks for making me feel better._ I thought genuinely. _"No problem,_ _goofball_ _."_ Lena said. I could have sworn that I heard her wink there.

"Hello?" I heard a sudden voice behind me and that made me jump. "Gah! Who's there?" I questioned. The mysterious person walked to my field of vision and they lit up the torch. That revealed the mysterious person as...the same tribeswoman from that encounter!

Naturally, I already began to fear her. "Oh no! Please get away from me!" I exclaimed out of fear. The woman hugged me. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." She said in a calm way. "How do I know that for sure?" I retorted. "I was only playing along with this stupid tradition. Besides, I never really attacked you. Only my two dumb brothers did." The woman answered.

 _Ohhh. That makes sense now. This woman is not hostile after all. Isn't this great, Lena?_ I thought. No response. _Umm, Lena?_ I thought as I got more and more worried. Then I quickly realized that this woman has hugged me more than three seconds. "OH NO! Please hug me again!" I said in such a frantic way.

"Okay, if that makes you feel any better..." The woman said as she quickly hugged me for four seconds. After that, the chill cams back. _"Hey, Louie!"_ Lena greeted. I sighed in relief.

Shortly after that, the woman untied me and she introduced herself. "My name is Kiki, the princess of this tribe." Kiki said. "Oh okay. The name's Duck, Louie Duck." I responded, using a certain introduction. I heard Lena's giggle in my head after I said this. I'm guessing she thought this was adorable and I blush at the thought of it.

"Nice name." Kiki complimented. "Thanks. Anyways, why does this place feel so deserted?" I wondered as I looked around. "That's because there's only me and my two dumb brothers." Kiki answered. "Say what?" I replied incredulously. "The other members of the tribe died due to the volcano accident. My brothers and I survived." Kiki continued.

"Oh okay. I think we should leave now..." I suggested. "Yes, let's." Kiki agreed. Then we ran out of this room and we ran down a familiar passageway. That's when we ran into a familiar group.

"LOUIE! You're okay!" Uncle Donald exclaimed as he hugged me. "Phew. Thank goodness that you're alive." Huey commented. The others just cheered upon seeing me.

Then they noticed Kiki and they glared at her. "What have you done to him!?" Dewey accused. I stood in front of Kiki. "Guys, don't worry! She's with me! She helped me escape!" I defended her. That's when we heard the dreaded voices of Boss. "GET BACK HERE! OR ELSE!" He screamed. "I WILL TRAP YOU ALL WITH MY MASSIVE LOOGIE!" Sebastian shouted. That's when my group, Kiki, and I decided to run out of the temple.

Luckily, the escape from the temple wasn't very hard. We simply ran out of the entrance. The only challenge is getting it to close so they won't go after us again.

"Dewey, do you think there's a way you can get the door to close?" Scrooge inquired. "I have no idea though... That was a lucky guess back there and now I have no idea." Dewey replied. Sebastian and Boss started to get closer. "JUST SAY THE OPPOSITE OF THE CODE PHRASE!" Scrooge yelled, both out of anxiety and frustration.

"Okay, okay! Geez! Just remember that I do not know the way!" Dewey replied with an annoyed look. Suddenly, the doors closed very quickly after Dewey said that. That trapped Boss and Sebastian inside. "Okay, how does this even work? I swear, that door keeps reacting to my thoughts... Oh wait, that means I have a superpower now! Yay!" Dewey commented. Webby giggles at this while I laughed the hardest.

"Phew! We made it out alive!" Donald said with relief. "Yep! We sure did, lad!" Scrooge replied with a smile. Then he suddenly looks shocked. "Curse me kilts, we forgot the treasure!" He exclaimed in frustration.

"Don't worry! I have the treasure of the Ugandan Temple!" Kiki said as she took the golden necklace off her neck and she gave it to Scrooge. That stopped Scrooge from complaining. "Yes! We did it!" He shouted as he danced around in joy. My brothers and I cheered while Webby simply smiled.

Then I felt curious. "Can I check out that golden necklace? I promise that I won't steal it this time." I persuaded. Uncle Scrooge gave me a skeptical look...and then he answered, "Fine. Just inspect that necklace, okay?"

"Okay!" I said as I grabbed the necklace. Immediately after I grabbed it, I felt a weird sensation. I looked down at my shadow to see Lena glowing with a blue aura. That's when I deduced that these connected treasures makes Lena's powers grow. That just gives me more motivation to find all of those treasures.

I figured that the golden necklace gave Lena the power to stay in her shadow form, regardless of lighting. As a result, she now glows. _Now she looks like a glowing beauty._ I thought lovingly. _"Aww, thank you!"_ Lena replied happily. I blushed. Seems like I just forgot that Lena can still hear my thoughts.

After that, I gave the golden necklace back to Scrooge. "Aye, you actually kept your promise this time. I'm proud of you, lad." Scrooge said while smiling. My only response was a grin.

Then I yawned. "I need some rest..." I said. "Ooh, I know a good campsite nearby! Follow me!" Kiki answered. Thus, we followed Kiki into the forest.

I looked down at my shadow, which is now glowing blue for the time being. I can sense her smiling at me. I smiled back and then I trudged along to the campsite, along with others, for the rest of the trip.


	6. A Sweet Break at the Campsite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louie and Lena rested at the campsite, producing more cute moments.

_Louie's POV_

Phew! That was one long walk to the campsite. It's a pretty dark one too. Thankfully, my blue and glowing shadow (AKA Lena) kept me calm. Kiki had guided me, my family, and Webby to the campsite.

As soon as I got into my tent, I immediately laid down on the tent floor. _"Laying down already?"_ A familiar voice in my head said. Then I sensed that she was smirking. _"Welp, there's the Louie that I know."_

I chuckled. _Huh. Funny. I was gonna say the same to you, Lena._ I thought. _"Well, I was being super sweet to you earlier because I was very grateful that you guys could potentially help out on freeing me from my shadow state. And it was also because you were scared at the time, so..."_ Lena explained.

I playfully rolled my eyes. _Touché._ I thought with respect. _"So now I know that you guys won't screw this up... I'm satisfied with being myself again."_ Lena said while smirking and crossing her arms. _I can see that._ I replied.

Then Lena looked around. _"Sooo... You're still going to lie down? Because it's almost sunset."_ Lena inquired. _And...?_ I said. _"Well, I would like to watch the sunset...with you."_ She explained. That surprised me. _Huh. I never knew that you're the type to watch sunsets._ I snarked. _"And I never knew that you're the type to be lazy, but hey, there's a first time for everything."_ Lena responded as she smirked yet again.

 _Fine, I'll go...if you pay me 10 dollars._ I thought slyly. I heard Lena gasp. _"Wow, just wow... You do know that I'm currently a shadow, right?"_ Lena asked incredulously. _I know, I'm just kidding._ I thought as I chuckled. Then I got up and walked out of my tent.

Once I walked out of my tent, I saw Webby and Dewey holding hands as they walked around the campsite. I immediately took out my phone and took a picture of them. _"You really are an evil triplet, aren't you?"_ Lena said. _Yeah, but I'm a GOOD evil triplet._ I replied. _"Yup. You're definitely my type._ " Lena's reply made me blush so hard. Then I continued walking to the forest.

A few minutes after that, I saw a clearing and I went through it. After that, I saw a big hill with a sunset facing it. I climbed onto the big hill and I sat down at the top. Then I felt Lena sitting next to me. Seems like she got out of my shadow to see this sunset.

Then we both looked at the sunset. Orange and purple skies collide thanks to the sunset. It's an outstanding sight, to say the least.

 _"This is the most beautiful sunset ever... It's really sweet."_ Lena commented. _Wait, you thought that the sunset is really sweet?_ I thought in surprise. _"Whaaaat? No... You must have been hearing things. I didn't think that the sunset is really sweet._ " Lena denied. _Says the girl who said super sweet things to me earlier._ I thought with a smirk. _"Okay, you got me there... Still, you can't deny that the sunset looks pretty amazing."_ Lena stated. _Yeah, you're right about that._ I agreed.

Then I yawned. _"Sleepy already?_ " Lena questioned playfully. _Hey, today was a long day, okay?_ I thought. _"Okay, okay... I'll let you sleep on my lap. That is, if you want to."_ Lena offered. Of course, I jumped at the offer and I immediately laid down on her lap. I heard Lena giggling. _"Of course."_ She commented. _Hey, I am what I am._ I thought. Then I fell asleep.

_Lena's POV_

I watched Louie fell asleep on my lap. Then I looked back at the beautiful sunset, which is starting to disappear and about to get replaced by a moon.

As soon as I saw the moon appearing, I immediately shivered. Ever since the "Shadow War", I have gained the fear of moons now. I fear that one of these moons would bring an eclipse into itself and give Magica power again.

I keep on shivering in fear because I don't want to deal with Magica again. She was...very abusive, to say the least. Then I end up getting an unpleasant memory...

_A few months ago, back when I was still a tangible duckling, I walked inside the amphitheater after failing one of my aunt's devious missions._

_As soon as I walked inside the rundown amphitheater, Magica appeared in my shadow. "Lena, you could have gotten information out of Scrooge about where his number one dime is!" She scolded. I rolled my eyes as I replied, "And how am I supposed to do that without raising suspicion?"_

_"He probably won't care, but since you messed up, it's time for your punishment." Magica threatened. I didn't feel surprised at this point. "It's the cruel and unusual one, isn't it?" I deadpan._

_"Yup!" Magica said. And all of a sudden, I couldn't move. This seems to be Magica's favorite way of punishing me: not letting me have the freedom of moving at all, but at this point, I can deal with that._

_I smirked. "Your punishments are starting to get stale, Aunt Magica. What are you gonna do about it?" I asked while smirking. Magica glared at me._

_Then, as bad luck would have it, my stomach growled. That's what I like to call bad timing. Magica heard this and she grinned maliciously. "You're hungry, are you?" She questioned, even though she didn't need to. I shook my head nervously as I replied, "N-no, I'm not. And even if I was, I can d-deal with it."_

_"Oh, is that so? Well, look at what your auntie has brought you today." Magica responded as she showed a burger in front of me. I gasped. "W-where did that come from?" I asked._

_"Why do you need to know? Maybe it's an illusion...or it could be real. Why don't you find out for yourself?" Magica offered. The hunger made me desperate, so I tried reaching out for the burger, but I still couldn't move. "Oh, did I forget that I made you immobile?" Magica mockingly asked. Then she laughed evilly._

_I kept trying to reach out for the hamburger, to no avail. I started to cry throughout all of this pain..._

After my unpleasant memory, I burst out sobbing. Yes, my past was that traumatic, but this situation should be over now, right?

So how come I still get haunted every time I look at the moon?

I looked down at Louie and sighed sadly. Right now, he's my only comfort. So I end up falling asleep with Louie and hugging him so I'll feel very safe.

My heart felt some happiness after doing so. And for the first time in a while, I feel a lot more safer.


	7. An Unexpected Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dewey has unwittingly found a path to the underground tunnels...along with Lena!

_Dewey's POV_

You know, I do like to take a rest every once in a while. I mean, that's what our bodies need and all. That sure as heck didn't beat my love for adventure though.

So that's why I'm lying awake in my tent at 6 AM in an early morning. I'm so anxious to continue on with this adventure that I woke up at 5 AM. Since I'm a bit too tired to move at the time, I recounted all of my previous adventures. This is my own way of counting sheep. (I don't get why counting a barn animal would make you sleep though.)

Surprisingly, I didn't sleep this time around. So when 6:00 AM came, I got up and walked out of the tent. Maybe a little walk could give me something to do...

So I walked through a forest clearing, wondering why there's so many bugs around, when I spotted Louie...sleeping by himself. Am I seeing this right?

...Maybe not. There has got to be something more than that...

...

...Oh, I think I get it now.

Maybe he's somehow sleeping next to Lena. Her shadow form kinda seems invisible from that angle, after all.

Well, either way, that's so sweet! If only I could take a picture of this! ...Oh wait, I can.

So I took my phone out and I used my camera app to take a picture of them. That tactic will never stop being priceless, believe me.

I'll just aim my phone at the lovely couple and...

**SNAP!**

Ah, young love!

I inspected the photo that I just took, noting the familiar blue shadowy tint on said photo. Yup, that's Lena, alright. She seems to be sleeping peacefully with Louie, and it seems that they're both smiling.

...Okay, you know what? My heart is seriously about to melt from all the sweetness that I'm seeing here! I ended up shifting into my sentimental mood as I hugged my little bro for a couple of seconds. I don't see anything wrong with that, so...

...Although, I did feel a chill running down my spine for some reason.

Oh well. No matter! After that, I walked into the forest, quite in the mood to explore. Doing this will definitely get me ready for the day, I know that for sure. I have been dewing this for a while, after all!

...See what I did there?

Anyways, I looked around for any interesting sights while walking through one forest path. No luck so far...

Oop! Wait! A sign caught my eyes as I looked at what it said. One sign is pointing to the left forest path while saying 'certain death', while the other sign said 'campgrounds'.

_I bet you can guess which sign I chose._

"Certain death!" I cheered as I ran through the left forest path. I didn't get far before I heard a groan though. Oh gosh, what was that?! A forest beast?! I will beat it to the pulp if it's the forest beast!

_"What the heck are you doing, Bluey?"_

A very familiar voice sounded in my head. Was that...Lena?

_...Oh duck. I think I might have hugged Louie for too long._

_"What are you doing?"_

She repeated. Welp, looks like I'm going to have to fix this. "Well, I was about to go on a little and explore the forest, but I think I'm going to head back to Louie now." I replied sheepishly. _"Wise choice."_ Lena said in a somewhat snarky tone. I playfully rolled my eyes as I make my way back.

 _"Hey, do you even know where you are going?"_ She questioned. I smiled confidently as I responded, "Of course! Adventure is second nature to me after ALLLLLLLLL!"

**BAM!**

That is what I would call an epic fail.

I looked around to see where I ended up getting myself into this time. It seems that I'm trapped in a huge hole...but luckily, there's a passageway leading the way!

 _"You were saying?"_ Lena said as she looked around with a sigh. "Hey, no worries! I still got this! I'll lead the way!" I exclaimed as I walked towards the passageway with Lena's shadow following closely. _"Somehow, I don't feel any better."_ She snarked with an eye roll. _"Louie, I really hope you stay safe out there though..._ " She silently mused.

_Louie's POV_

My whole world has flipped upside down...and not in a good way.

Namely, I...lost Lena.

I kept trying to contact her, but she wouldn't appear in my shadow. This only left me in a panicked state as I ran all the way back to the campsite. This whole time, it felt like I was jogging for Lena's life. Hey, I do care a big deal about her and if I lose her, I...I...

_..I wouldn't even know what I would do without her._

After the anxiety jog, I gathered everyone at the campsite. "What's wrong, laddie?" Uncle Scrooge asked. "L-Lena..." I simply quivered out a response.

The other gave off a confused look. I sighed as I looked down at the ground. Now I know how it feels to lose someone (hopefully temporarily)... I bet Dewey and Webby has felt this way countless times before, since the adventures they go on tend to be dangerous and all.

Scrooge seems to figure it out as he said, "Everyone, look at your shadows! Lena might be hiding in one of them!" And so, we went ahead and did what Scrooge said, including me. I just can't resist to see if she's okay, alright? Unfortunately, no one can seem to find her. And then...

"Wait, where's Dewey?" Webby questioned as she finally noticed the lack of dear Dewford's presence. That's when everything clicked.

"Laddies and lassies, we need to find Dewey! He most likely has Lena's shadow!" Scrooge ordered. "But how are we supposed to find him?" I asked as I walked up to him.

Scrooge glances around for any clues and then he spotted footprints in the dirt. "I think I know how." Scrooge replied with his usual charisma, which is a good sign since that means he most likely found a solution!

Having thought of that, my nerves are slowly starting to calm down. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Huey exclaimed. We all agreed to follow the footprints and we ran off, but not before we hear Kiki (who was with us on the Ugandan temple adventure, which happened a day ago) call out, "I'll stay behind at the campsite! It'll be a good idea for me to guide the newcomers that happen to come here!" "Okay! Sounds like a plan!" Uncle Donald stated as he ran off with us.

Not long after that, we discovered that these footprints led to the large hole. Scrooge sighs as he stated, "Knowing Dewey, he probably fell down this hole." "Talk about unfortunate! Despite that, I will do whatever I can to find and help him and Lena!" Webby said with quite a steely resolve in her voice. "Yes! For Dewey and Lena!" I replied with that same resolve. I'm so determined to help them at this point.

And thus, Scrooge attached the hook to the dirt and he threw the rope down the side of the hole. After that, he tied one end to the hook, making it easier for us to climb down into the hole.

I was the second-to-last person to climb down. I looked up at Scrooge and he nodded, reassuring me that it's safe and he will make sure of it. Then I looked down at the hole with a look of determination. _I'm gonna find these two, even if it's the last thing I do!_

After thinking this, I climbed down the rope, with Scrooge following closely behind.


	8. The Unsettling Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever been to the underground passageways before? Yeah, Dewey, along with Lena, is now starting to learn firsthand how dangerous this place can be. No worries, though! The search party is hot on his trail, so maybe they’ll find him soon! Here’s hoping that Louie and Lena can reunite once they found him!

_Dewey's POV_

_"So, how do you plan on getting us out of this mess?"_

I gotta say, when it comes to trying to find a way to get back in Louie's shadow, Lena is super persistent. And you know, it's 100% a good thing. Louie is definitely lucky to find a girl who is fully committed to their relationship! Now, if only Lena wouldn't use that incredible persistence as a way to annoy me...

"Look, I'll find a way to get you back to Louie as soon as I can. We need to get out of the underground passage first though. Alright?" I explained.

_"Alright, do you promise on helping me get back to Louie once we get out of here?"_

"I definitely promise." I replied quickly in hopes of reassuring her.

_"Wholeheartedly?"_

"100%!"

_"Good."_

And with that, I continued down the straight path throughout the underground passage. So far, so good. This whole trip is getting boring though. I mean, there's absolutely no obstacles for me to overcome! How am I supposed to have fun on this mini adventure (the whole reason I even got myself into this situation, to be honest) if there's basically nothing for me to do?

Oh well. At least I have Lena in my shadow to keep me company. Not to mention that she is really helpful when it comes to lighting up a path for me by using her powers.

At this point, I'm starting to accept the complete lack of obstacles on this particular trek when... Wait a minute, what is that?!

I walked over to some interesting-looking object. It's oozing out...something. I don't even know anymore! I wanna take a closer look though!

Once I did, I started to realize what this object is: It's a silver and metallic barrel...with a radioactive symbol on it! And sure enough, it's leaking a small puddle of radioactive waste! Yes!

"Yay, I'm finally getting some thrills!" I cheered.

_"From simply looking at dangerous stuff? What kind of life have you been living, Dewey?"_

"An exciting one!" I happily answered as I noticed that there's a trail of radioactive waste that leads straight ahead! I excitedly followed the trail, knowing that something HAS to happen if I follow it!

I kept on following the trail, wondering where it's gonna take me next. It turns out that the trail led me to three underground passageways. Looks like if I choose a wrong passageway, I might get lost forever! Awesome! The thrills are adding up!

...Well, besides the fact that the waste trail is still leading on to one of the passageways, indicating that this passageway is correct. Therefore, this takes the fun out of my personal guessing game.

"Dang, this adventure is back to being boring!" I complained as I crossed my arms.

_"Remember the promise that you just made to me? We should get out of here as soon as possible!"_

I nodded in agreement. She's right, of course. I need to reunite these two lovebirds if it's the last thing I do!

So I simply followed the waste trail to the presumably right passageway. It may be a boring way out, but if it means reuniting my brother and his girlfriend, then so be it.

Unfortunately, I did not look around carefully as I made it to the halfway section of this passageway. I ended up stepping on something that triggered the net trap, which resulted in me getting caught in it. Talk about bad luck! How am I gonna get out of this now?!

I heard Lena sigh. Seems like she's not happy with this plight either, which makes the two of us...but then, I heard another thing. Something more antagonistic. Something more feral. Something more like...

_...a monstrous roar._

Welp, let's do a little recap, shall we? So, I found some radioactive waste back there, which is flat-out harmful to the environment, no doubt. Next, I encountered multiple passageways, which adds a sense of mystery and trial-and-error (convenient waste trail notwithstanding). And finally, there seems to be a monstrous foe in the proximity and it seems like it's getting closer, all the while I'm getting stuck in the net trap!

_All of this adds up to the perfect trifecta of a dangerous adventure._

I end up chuckling as I said with utter confidence, "I'm in danger."

_"Ugh, this is no time to bring up some ducking memes! This is serious!"_

Lena's words snapped me back to reality and that's when I realized that I got more than I bargained more in this adventure. We both ended up screaming for help after that.

"AAAAAHHHHH! Someone help us! Please!" I panicked.

_"Help me, Louie! I don't want to die and leave you like this..."_

I took notice at Lena's words and immediately felt bad for her. At this point, she must have missed him a lot, right? Oh, if only someone could save us now...

_Louie's POV_

"Nothing's happening so far. Do you really think we should be afraid of this particular adventure?" I wondered out loud.

"Never underestimate any adventure, even when it seems like nothing is happening, laddie! It's best to be cautious at all times!" Uncle Scrooge stated as he looked around. "Those definitely are words to live by!" Uncle Donald added (unsurprisingly). "You can say that again, Uncle Donald!" Huey replied. Surprisingly, Donald didn't say it again. I guess he's the mature one.

Our whole group walked throughout the entire underground passageway until we spotted a leaking radioactive barrel. Scrooge carefully inspected it and then he saw something really interesting—and worrying—upon closer inspection: There's a label. And it said:

_Glomgold Industries._

"Curse me kilts! When will Flinty ever learn to stop dropping his stuff!? One day, it's going to come back to bite him back in his tail feathers!" Scrooge complained. "That must mean Glomgold must be nearby! We should keep moving!" Webby stated.

We all agreed, and with that, we followed the radioactive trail all the way through. It even led us to the multiple passageways area, but we simply followed the radioactive trail going into a single passageway. At least this adventure will be much easier now!

Once we made it to the halfway area of that passageway, we couldn't believe what we saw. We found Dewey, and most likely Lena, but...

_There's a gigantic monster that just grabbed the net trap that Dewey was trapped in and he was about to eat him!_

This monster looks like a gray Terra-Firmian and by the looks of it, it got affected by the radioactive waste. That's pretty unfortunate...

"Someone, please get me out of here!" Dewey was practically screaming out of fear at this point. "DEWEY!" Webby shouted out of anxiety. Very understandable, considering her special lover is about to get eaten.

She nodded at Donald, Scrooge, and Huey. They nodded back. Then they all set out to initiate their plan. Huey throws rocks at the monster, Donald goes on his violent berserker rage, and Scrooge simply uses his cane to poke harshly at it. Together, they bring all the pain! And apparently, it brought just enough pain that it dropped Dewey!

He's now out of the net trap, but he's falling! That's when Webby quickly wall-jumped to Dewey's height...and dove for him!

The result? She successfully caught him in her arms. The two share a cute moment together as Dewey looked at Webby in wonder while blushing, all the while Webby smiled sweetly at him.

Once they landed, she dropped Dewey off next to me and he immediately hugged me. "Oh, thank you so much, you guys! I thought I was a goner for sure!" He said in such a relieved tone.

Thanks to that hug, I felt a familiar, reassuring chill. As soon as Dewey lets go of me, I heard a voice.

_"Louie! Oh, I missed you so much, my precious green bean!"_

_Wow, you must have missed me a lot if you immediately started calling me pet names._

_"Exactly! That's how much you mean to me!"_

_Awwww, Lena... The feeling's completely mutual!_

And then I felt a hugging sensation from her. I immediately hugged her back, providing her as much comfort as I could.

And then...

**CHOMP!**

**"UNCLE SCROOGE!"**

The group shout caught my attention and when I noticed the lack of Scrooge's presence and the monster licking its lips, that's when I realized what just happened. Needless to say, things are getting a lot more serious now...


	9. A Huge Monster Mash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louie and Lena may have finally been reunited now, but there's currently a giant and mutated Terra-Firmian on the loose that is out to get them and the Duck family. Will they ever triumph over this fearsome foe, or will this adventure be their last?

_Louie's POV_

"N-No... This can't be right... Y-You horrid creature...!" Huey growled, becoming unbelievably angry that this horrible mutated Terra-Firmian monster ate our Uncle Scrooge.

Uncle Donald rolled up his sleeves, definitely ready for a fight. "It's time to put my past adventuring experience to the maximum for this battle. We're going to save you, Uncle Scrooge!" He declared with the utmost confidence. When it comes to protecting and saving his family, he definitely shines in that field.

"We're gonna make you pay for making them lose a family member! Right, Dewey?" Webby exclaimed out of outrage and determination as she looked over at Dewey.

Dewey ROARED, clearly looking for some vengeance against their ferocious enemy. "YEAH! I gotta warn you, you dew NOT want to mess with us, you filthy monster!" He threatened with a glare.

I inwardly roll my eyes. Even in a heat of a very serious moment, he still can't resist to make a pun off of his very own name.

As for myself, I'm trying my best to stay calm here, but inside, I'm flat-out terrified. Thank goodness Lena is here in my shadow right now, currently comforting me.

_"You're really gonna let this monster terrify you? Lou, I believe in you outsmarting that monster and kicking its butt!"_

I smiled softly as I looked down at my glowing blue shadow. "Thank you, Lena. I'll try to keep my calm now." I promised. Lena smiled back with a hint of sweetness. After that, I looked back up to see a huge battle unfolding.

Dewey and Webby ran all around the creature, hoping to distract it. Donald ran all over the place, looking for a way to hit the monster. And Huey tried looking around for some rocks to throw at it, in hopes of hurting it to some extent.

That leaves only me, and I have yet to come up with a battle strategy.

_Think, Louie, think! There must be some way to help out in this battle!_

My thoughts said, as it swirled around in my head. I looked around the area carefully, hoping to find something useful. Then my eyes landed on a rocky stairway. I let my eyes follow up the stairway path, wondering where that path ends. Once I saw the end of the path, I saw an already closed net trap that is full of big rocks, which is hanging from the ceiling not far from the end of the rocky path, and it happens to be hanging above the monster.

That's when I figured out the solution: There must be a mechanism at the end of the path that can disable the net trap and let the rocks go, hurting the monster...and maybe even defeat it!

_"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, greenie?"_

A familiar blue shadow glowed next to me once again, and I immediately nodded my head.

_Yes, I am. I'm going to stop this monster now!_

Lena chuckled happily. I can tell that she's liking this plan already.

_"I'm glad to see you got a plan. I'll light a way for you so you'll easily get through the rocky stairway without slipping, alright?"_

I smiled happily after hearing this from her. She's so nice!

_Alright! Thank you so much, partner!_

_"No problem, partner."_

And with that, I started climbing the rocky stairway to the top, with a comforting glow from my loving blue shadow, hoping to reach the top before any more disasters can happen. Occasionally, I look back down to the raging battle near me, trying to see what's going on.

Donald decided to zip all around the monster, distracting it in the process. Dewey and Webby managed to wall-jump back and forth near the monster, punching and kicking it every time they come in contact with it. And Huey simply threw rocks at the monster, increasing the pain.

I sighed in relief, glad that they are safe for now, as I continued to climb up the rocky stairway. When I made it to the halfway point of the rocky stairway though, I gasped as a sudden loud roar shook the cave. I almost slipped, but I held on to the rocky stairway, making sure not to fall. That moment alone already gave me anxiety...but of course, things went from bad to worse.

The monster seemed like it had enough of my allies' attacks, so the first thing it did was to fall over backwards and squash Donald, which unfortunately succeeded because at that very moment, Donald was on its back. Then it grabbed him and threw him to the side. Now he's definitely out like a light...

Next, the monster quickly got up and it caught Dewey and Webby off guard by grabbing them before they can initiate another attack. After that, it quickly threw them at the wall hard, knocking the pair out as well.

And finally, the monster waddled over to Huey and simply threw a large boulder at him, seemingly squishing him as it landed on him.

I screamed out of anguish from seeing my loved ones get hurt. This definitely didn't help my current anxiety. In fact, the stress is now piling up inside me. Oh gosh, if only Uncle Scrooge wasn't eaten by that monster...

By that point, a familiar and soothing voice echoed in my head:

_"Louie, I know that all of these unfortunate events are stressing you out right now—heck, even I am a bit stressed out—but don't worry, I'm still here with you. That monster will never take you away from me, and that's a fact. Just please regain the motivation to continue on and defeat this monster while I'll continue to light the way. Together, we can put the end to this horrible situation for good. And remember, your family and I will always believe in you, Louie."_

After hearing Lena's whole speech, I took it into consideration, and after a few seconds of that, I nodded. You know that Lena's speech is dead serious when she calls you by your real name instead of the usual nicknames by the end of said speech.

"You're right, Lena. Together, we can do this. Now, let's go!" I declared as I started to climb the latter half of the rocky stairway while following the reassuring light that Lena is giving out. During that climb, Lena only uttered this:

_"Now that's the spirit, greenie. Go on and continue being awesome. I know you will."_

Needless to say, my heart definitely felt like it could melt from her sweet words.

After that climb, I reached the top and immediately started looking around for some solutions. From what I can see, there's some scissors that's been laying on the ground, seemingly abandoned, and there's some rope that leads the way to a closed net trap that's holding the heavy rocks. Now, why would these objects be here on the top of the rocky stairway, unless they connect to the solution...?

**_DING!_ **

A figurative light bulb popped into my head as I figured out a simple solution: I quickly grabbed the scissors and simply used it to cut the leading rope. The result?

Well, that action made the net trap drop like a bag of rocks (quite literally in this case) and it fell right on top of the monster, burying it in rocks.

I cheered after seeing the desired results, with Lena cheering along with me. It's finally over! Now I can finally take a deep breath and feel relaxed again...

From that point on, I found a (surprisingly smooth) rock slide and slid down all the way to ground level. "Woo-ooooooo!" I continued cheering on the ride down. Once I made it to ground level, I started checking on my family and their health...well, I would have, but a shiny object has caught my attention.

That shiny object happens to be located behind the rock pile (and therefore, behind where the monster used to be). Intrigued, I walked a little closer to investigate this shiny object...and I gasped out of pleasant surprise.

The shiny object turned out to be an amazing treasure! And not only that, but this could possibly be the second treasure that Scrooge is hoping to look for on this whole world trip! Oh, but the excitement doesn't stop here! This specific treasure seems to be "The Lost Crystal of Terrafirmia", the treasure that I had heard so much about! Now I'm finally gonna have this treasure all to myself! Feeling excited, I ran over to my well-deserved prize, not wasting any time on getting my hands on this treasure...

_...When I suddenly fell down face-first and felt myself getting pulled back._

I instinctively grabbed onto a nearby pillar (which is sitting near the treasure, thank goodness) and looked up to see that my leg got caught on a snare trap. Geez, how many traps did these people set in hopes of catching that monster Terra-firmian?

And of course, as if my life was a dramatic story (if it was, I would definitely blame some writer who came up with this turn of events), the monster Terra-Firmian decided that getting buried by rocks was 'tis but a mere scratch, according to that creature, because it busted out of its rock burial, looked at me, and slowly moved towards me, clearly intending to end me for what I have done to it.

I gulped nervously and then began to struggle against the pull of the snare trap, trying my best to hold on to the pillar while reaching for the green crystal, knowing that by touching the crystal, Lena could retrieve some more powers, just like with the last treasure.

The pressure from this whole situation absolutely does not feel good though, because even the tiniest mistake could be lethal. I could lose grip and get suspended upside down, leaving myself a sitting duck (pun not entirely intended) for the monster. The monster could simply catch up to me and eat me on the spot. The treasure probably wouldn't even give the correct powers that would defeat the monster for good. Oh, this is all too much for me to take...

_"Remember my inspiring words, Louie? Please take them to heart, Louie. My belief in you will never go away, no matter what."_

As if the speech itself was a power-up, I felt myself regain my strength after hearing Lena's rousing speech. I decided to better die trying than do nothing at all.

So I tried my best to pull myself up past the pillar, in hopes of getting close enough to touch the treasure. It took a lot of effort, and I actually almost slipped a few times, which gave me a little bit of anxiety, but after all that, I managed to pull myself up past the pillar.

Then I pushed myself from the pillar and quickly held on to the crystal. Once again, I felt a weird sensation that I got the last time I touched an important treasure for the world trip. That's definitely a good sign.

I looked up to my beloved shadow to see that she's glowing a little more than before. Another good sign! I started to smile as I heard Lena's joyous cheering after I accomplished my goal.

_"Woohoo! I can feel some of my powers return to me, slowly but surely!"_

"I'm so glad to hear that, Lena! Congratulations!" I said happily, trying my very best to ignore my current perilous situation.

_"Thank you, greenie! Alright, now that I'm starting to get some of my powers back... Try letting go now."_

I gasped as I looked up to Lena in shock. "Huh? What about my current problem?" I asked nervously as I still held on to the crystal, starting to feel my grip slipping.

_"Don't worry, I have a plan for that. Once you let go, I'll DEFINITELY make sure that the monster won't hurt you. It'll definitely regret it otherwise."_

Then Lena smiles with reassurance, hoping to calm me down so I can go along with her plan. After a few seconds of considering it, I nodded as I smiled back with determination. "Alright. I trust you, sweetheart." I replied with a small blush.

That's when I felt a soft and gentle kiss on my forehead. That kiss felt a little more physical than before, as if the kisses don't feel quite airy anymore. Now it feels more like as if she was actually there to give me a forehead kiss. I think I might have figured out her next power.

I blushed a little more with a shy smile as I heard a soft giggle from her.

_"Thank you so much, my precious green bean. The feeling's very mutual. Now, shall we get started?"_

I nodded with affirmation. It's time to get this plan started.

I let go of the crystal and let the snare trap pull me away and up into the air, leaving me suspended upside-down, in front of the monster, no less!

The monster looked at me and noticed my current predicament. It then laughed uproariously, thinking that it's going to be easy to kill me now that I'm trapped. It slowly waddled closer to me, licking its lips with anticipation, clearly intending to eat me, just like it ate Scrooge. I started to feel nervous yet again, as my brain can't help but think about the worst outcome for this.

Thankfully, as the monster got close enough and is about to grab me, the green crystal's glow casted a shadow on the monster. Once that happened, Lena immediately took an opportunity to appear in my shadow, get in position, and start her attack.

_"This is for hurting my friends and their families!"_

She said as she got to the location of the monster's stomach and punched it as hard as she could.

" **GRAAAAAGHHHH!** "

That definitely upset the monster's stomach, no doubt. It feebly held the stomach in hopes of blocking some punches... Unbeknownst to the creature though, the shadow of Lena moved up to the monster's face, charging up a very magical punch.

_"This is for hurting Greenie!"_

After she said that, her magical punch reached full power and she threw it at the monster's face.

**"GUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAH!"**

That knocked the monster out cold as it crashed onto the floor. Lena disappeared at that moment, indicating that she's done attacking. The monster groaned knits state, clearly not wanting to take more pain.

_Little did it know that this attack isn't over yet._

The "magical" part of the punch began as the monster's stomach rumbled painfully, and then...

**BOOM!**

The monster exploded out of existence!

I gasped after witnessing this, not expecting for the attack to end like that. I almost even felt sorry for the creature. Welp, at least it definitely won't hurt us any longer, for good this time.

All that remains in that spot after the monster exploded, is the very exhausted Scrooge. Donald, Dewey, and Webby regained consciousness at that point. Huey used his tools from his backpack to carve his way out of his boulder prison, freeing himself and revealing that the boulder didn't actually squish him, it merely trapped him in there, due to a huge hole underneath the boulder. They all ran over to Scrooge as soon as they saw him and they hugged him tightly, very happy to be reunited with him.

Scrooge felt surprised after he received sudden hugs from his family, but then he smiled and hugged back, saying, "Aww, I'm very glad to be reunited with you too, laddies."

I smiled as I watched a very heartwarming family moment, almost forgetting about my little plight of still hanging upside down from a snare trap.

_Almost._

I cleared my throat loudly and said, "Umm, hey guys, sweet moment and all, but I need some help getting out of this trap over here."

The group turned over to me and Huey said, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Louie! We'll help you get down right away!" The rest of the group nodded as they went over to get started on freeing me.

**Several minutes later...**

After the group helped me get out of the snare trap, we all decided to grab the treasure and made our way out of the underground cave and passage. Once we got out of there and made our way back to the campsite, the sun already began to set at that point. Scrooge decided that this is the perfect time to light up a campfire and tell a story of our underground adventure to Kiki and a trio of tourists that managed to make their way to this campsite.

Those new inhabitants happen to be a family of purple sabrewings, which consists of two adult male sabrewings and one young female sabrewing. They all seem to be tourists in this area, judging by their touristy garb.

"Whoa, these guys seem like one happy family!" Huey deduced with wonder.

"Yeah, I think we can all see that, Hubert." Dewey replied as he looked at them. They all seem to be having a good time here, telling their own campfire stories, roasting marshmallows, and generally spending time with each other. You know, normal family campfire stuff that you probably did with your non-adventuring family.

One of the two dads then said to their daughter, "Alright, it's time to go now, Violet."

Violet looked back at her dad as she asked, "But dad, can we at least wait until Scrooge is done telling the story? It sounds so interesting!" She sounded pretty fascinated as she said that, as if she's really interested in this adventure stuff. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she actually was though. Many people find my family and our adventures very fascinating after all.

The other dad nodded as he answered, "Alright, we'll stay here until Scrooge is finished with this story. I'll be honest, we find it pretty interesting too!" Aha, I knew it. I never met anyone who ever gets bored from listening to Uncle Scrooge's stories.

Huey happened to sit in front of Violet as she said that, and he said, "Are you getting interested in Uncle Scrooge's adventures?"

"Why, of course I am! You learn a lot from those adventures, don't you?" Violet asked with a curious small smile.

"Indubitably! I even learned things that I didn't even know existed during these adventures!" Huey replied back excitedly.

"Then I'm definitely a huge fan of your adventures with Scrooge McDuck and your family." Violet responded as her smile grew bigger.

I happily watched my oldest brother and his new friend bond with each other, happy to see that they possibly might share an interest with each other...that is, until I felt someone ruffling my hair softly and playfully. I turned around to see who did that, only to see that no one's there. A soft and cute giggle, which I heard seconds later, reminded me of the person that most likely just did this to me.

_"_ _Hehe, you are so cute, Greenie. Like, how can you possibly be this cute?_ _"_

I shrugged as I responded to Lena with, "I have no idea, but I also have no idea how you could be so unbelievably cute as well."

_"_ _Touché._ _"_

After she said that, she planted a soft kiss on my forehead, which I definitely felt without any doubt now, thanks to her recently increased powers. As a result, my blushing has grew to unexpected heights. I'm pretty sure literally everyone could notice my blushing tomato face right about now, but thankfully, they didn't. I silently thanked whoever managed to not let people see me like this.

After that, Scrooge finished telling the story and said to us, "Alright, kids, I'm fairly sure you are all very tired after the adventure in the Ugandan temple, and most certainly after the underground adventure. So I'm thinking that we should fly back to Duckburg and land on the beach near my Money Bin. Therefore, I'll be able to easily put away my two recent artifacts, the Ugandan Golden Necklace and the Lost Crystal of Terrafirmia, while the rest of you lads and lassies get to have a genuine break on the beach, aye?"

We all cheered with agreement after Scrooge suggested this, and with that, he smiled and led us all the way back to the Sunchaser, where Launchpad was waiting for us.

After the plane flew up into the air and flew on the path to Duckburg, Lena and I decided to just watch the pretty night sky out from the windows. We definitely would have done this the whole trip, but these back-to-back adventures had absolutely drained my energy, so I ended up resting on Lena's lap, where she patted my head gently and giggled with amusement. Then I heard her say:

_"_ _Good night, my precious cute Greenie!_ _"_

I smiled like a cute idiot in my sleep after hearing that from her. I just only hope that no one is taking pictures of this embarrassing, but totally cute and wholesome moment right about now...


End file.
